Improvement in rolling leather



, UNITED STATES PATENT EEicE.

JOEL WHITNEY, OF WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROLLING LEATHER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,069, dated September 22, 1863.

T 0 (ZZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOEL WHITNEY, of Win chester, in thecounty ot' Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful I m provementsin Machines for Roll ing Leather; and I do hereby declarethat the followingis a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyin gdrawings, and to the letters of reference maiked thereon, forming a part of this specification, like letters in the figures indicating the same parts, and in which drawings Figure l is a vertical central longitudinal section of my machine, and Fig. 2 a central cross-section of the same.

The object of my invention is the production of a machine by means of which leather may be expeditiously and properly prepared for the manufacture of boot and shoe soles, thus savin g the great amount of labor required for such purpose when the leather is put in such condition by the ordinary process of hammering.

In the drawings, A A indicate the main end frames of the machine, connected by lower cross-ties, b b, and upper cross-beams, 00, said beams being cut away longitudinally and made to conform to the lower pressureroller, as shown, and occupying such relation to both the upper and lower pressure-rollerslas will enable them to serve the purpose of a table or platform upon which theleather maybe guided into and delivered from the machine. On the inner surface of the end frames upright strips (1 d are secured, which serve to hold in working position the main operative parts of the machine.

Central of and beneath the cross-tie b a footlever, e, is hinged, as at f, the front end of said lever passing beneath and projecting in front of the cross-tie b, and held in juxtaposition therewith by an india-rubber spring, g, as shown. Thus when the lever e is depressed, and not held stationary by engaging with the pendent ratchet-stop h, the spring 9 will act to return the lever from its depressed position to that shown in Fig. 2. As ate, this foot-lever is hinged to pendent connecting-arms k k, which, at their upper ends, as at It k, are hinged to the outer ends of levers L, said levers bein g connected, as at m m, to the lower extremity of the strips d d, and freely articulating thereon. Theselevers L have their inner ends recessed, as at p p, in which rods p are stepped, said rods being maintained in vertical position by passing through st. y-blocks p and in which they freely articulate up and down in the operation of the machine. The upper ends of the rods 19 are attached to the under side of movable brackets Q Q, held in place between the uprights d d by cross strips 1" r.

N N are miter-geared screws, the one being a left and the other a right hand screw, both being stepped in sliding brackets Q Q, as shown, and both engaging with sliding screwsocket blocks 8 s, the upper ends of which ongage, as shown, in a recess in the bottom of the lower roll-boxes, t t, which boxes afford a bearing for a lower metal roller, V.

V is an upper metal roll, having its bearings in boxes If t, which rest upon cross-rods w w, and thus prevent the descent of the roll. The upper roll, V, is therefore stationary, or practically so, though in the operation of the machine it is permitted to yield slightlyin an upward direction, by reason of solid rubber springs t 25 interposed between the boxes 21 t and check-plates a u, against which screws am, as shown, are made to act for regulating the pressure of said stationary roller.

As clearly shown in Fig. 1, a crossshaft, B, with a hand-wheel, 0, attached, has a bearing at either end in the sliding brackets Q Q. Secured to this shaft bevel-wheels, as at N N, are made to engage with the miter or bevel wheels N N so that when said shaft is rotated by the hand-wheel c a simultaneous movement will be imparted to the last-named wheels, which, acting upon the right and left hand screws a a, will also simultaneously elevate or depress the screw-socket blocks 8 s, and so in turn elevate or depress the boxes tt of the roller V. It will thus be seen that when a sheet of leather is desired to be placed between the rolls V V, the rolls may, ifnecessary, be set apart simply by turning the handwheel 0 in proper direction for such purpose, and that after the sheet or hide of leather is once inserted the lower roll maybe with great pow er forced up against the leather simply by reversing the movement of the hand-wheel c.

2 ropes It will also be seen that this act of forcing up the lower roll is independent of any action of the levers L L, or, in other words, the distance or space between the rollers may be adjusted without altering the fulcrums of the levers, and in this way afford a ready and convenient mode of operating the machine. If, however, after the leather has been inserted between the rollers, any additional power or pressure of the roller is required more than that which is capable of being imparted by the turning of the hand-wheel, such additional power can be applied by the operator pressing his foot upon the foot-tread 0, thereby bringing into action the lovers L L, whereby the parts 19 p Q Q N N N N s s and boxes t t are all forced upward, carrying with them the lower roller, V, or exercising a powerful pressure upon said roll, and which pressure may be continued at any desired intensity by causing the foot-lever e to look into the pendent ratchet h.

It will of course be seen that when the hand-wheel only is used to apply pressure to the roller V the downward thrust of the vertical rods 19 19 upon the ends of the levers L L will not affect said levers, they being held stationary, by reason of thelever ebearin g against the under side of the cross-tie b.

The advantages of rolling the leather for boot and shoe soles are the same as hammering it in order to harden and consolidate it, and the advantages of my rollin g-machine over all others is due to the compound pressure which I am enabled to apply, and to the easy and accurate adjustment of the rolls to suit the thickness of stock to be rolled.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The arrangement of the geared screws to a and the geared actuating-shaft with the rollers V V and springs t t so that the lower as well as the upper roller is adjustable, substantially as set forth.

2. Combining the rollers V V with an actuating-shaft and bevel-wheels located below the lower roller, by means of which power may be applied to the rollers through the rotation of such shaft and wheels, and by a lever-power additional thereto, all from a point below the lower roller, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In combination with pressure-rollers V V, to which power may be applied from a point below the lower roller, either solely by an actuating-shaft and bevel-wheels, or in conjunction with a lever-power additional thereto, the

application of rubber springs t t and the pendent ratchet h, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The combination of the parts a and p, by means of the bracket Q, as and for the purpose set forth.

Witness my hand and seal, in the matter of my application for patent on improvement in rolling leather to harden it, this 14th day of January, 1863.

mm WHITNEY. n s. j 

